The Post Lockdown World and Acupuncture
We are welcoming in the “new normal” and I think we all meet this with excitement and fear!
My Lockdown
My lockdown experience was very up and down, as were most peoples I think. I will share a little bit of what my lockdown was like, because I ask my patients to share so much of their lives with me, sometimes I think its nice to share some of my life in return.
Some things were hard. My biz (my baby) was shut and losing money. Not working was also really hard. Firstly I love my job so not working is such a shame, but also I had nothing to do. I felt unproductive and a bit useless. I missed my friends so much. I lived in a house of 6 people, a little bit squished, without a lot of personal space (something I am a very big fan of), and had a bereavement. Not to mention the pandemic itself and the terrible state of the world.
But there were some really good bits. I spent some amazing time with my family, the kind we won’t ever have again, and I don’t think we have ever got on so well or had as much fun, I chilled out properly for the first time in a few years, learning that I don’t have to be productive to be happy. My grandfather survived Covid-19 at 98 years old, I learnt some new DIY skills, and had a big reminder of how much I love my friends,
A D Acupuncture
A D Acupuncture was no different to the millions of small businesses to close due to the pandemic. I treated my last patient before the closure on 20th March. And on 6th June, clinic finally reopened. While a couple of months of that time I did very little although still trying to support my patients, the last month was spent gearing up for the reopen. I always knew that things would be different when we went back but there was a lot to figure out and think about. The sense of responsibility I felt to reopen and be safe was quite overwhelming. But I think that’s a good thing. It shows a level of care and awareness. So by the time I opened the clinic, I felt very sure that my clinic was safe and that my return to work was appropriate. At this point I was only allowed to see urgent care patients. During this time I worked with lots of different conditions such as Sciatica, Tennis Elbow, Interstitial Cystitis and Oral Thrush.
As of 4th July, clinic has reopened to all patients and I’m so excited. I have to say, I hated urgent care only. I had to turn people away, and I had to decide who was deserving enough of help and that whole thing just didn’t sit well with me. Don’t get me wrong, I understand it was necessary, but I’m glad it’s over.
But now we are trying to move to the “new normal”. And I am looking at how acupuncture and it’s patients will change going forward.
Firstly, the new COVID secure workings of the clinic will be sticking around for a while. For details on those changes, have a look at my risk assessment and procedures documents.
The new treatment that will be going on is COVID-19 recovery treatments. As people recover from this virus, some are being left with fatigue and weakness, migraines, weakened immune systems, and mental distress, to name a few. Acupuncture can be an amazing tool to help with all these aspects. I have started working with post Covid patients and I am really excited to see the results acupuncture brings about. Using both needles and moxa, the immune system can be so well supported. I’m also loving the Moxa Self Care Kits for this, and shipping them to help people get well at home. And while its new to me, working with acupuncture in a pandemic, its not new for acupuncture. The Shang Hun Lun, one of the first medical textbooks of acupuncture, was created out of a pandemic and the role acupuncture plays with that sort of disease. The Shang Hun Lun has gone on to be a focal point for an entire system of Chinese Medicine.
The other major change I think I will see in clinic is post COVID-19 anxiety. I believe this will happen in a lot of different ways.
Anxiety created after having the virus and experiencing that trauma. Anxiety around our safety and avoiding viruses and illness. Anxiety in the transition out of lockdown and back to socialising/working. And the list goes on. All of these can have knock on effects leading to other mental health conditions such as OCD, agoraphobia and depression. I myself have experienced anxiety in a way I never have before, as I began socialising with friends again. Acupuncture can be so useful in these scenarios, helping to calm the mind and ease anxieties. If you are feeling a lot of anxiety or stress, you can check out my acupressure videos to help with this (at bottom of post), as well as getting in touch with me.
For help with any thing, from the new post lockdown world, or from way before we knew what COVID was, just get in touch.
